It's added to jars to make sure it's evenly distributed so all jars are properly acidified.

Wouldn't it get evenly distributed in a pot, too?

Come to think of it, I'd have the same question regarding salt except that I won't be adding any.

Theoretically yes. But think of it like this... Peas and carrots. When you scoop randomly to get peas and carrots, you can't guarantee that you'll get the same proportion of each in every scoop. So you scoop peas and then you scoop carrots. you pour in lemon juice, then you add tomatoes.

Just hold your spoon over the jar and let the extra drips go as well. It's not that time consuming.

It may seem easier to measure only once but it isn't nearly as accurate to do so. You'd be amazed to know how many failures, both in quality and safety, results from mistakes in measuring. This is especially so with liquid measurements.

So yes, since this is a safety issue, adding it to the individual jars is necessary. There is no way to insure accurate results otherwise. And it is very easy to do.

Dave

Thanks everyone. Measuring into jars individually is what I've done in the past. The other possibility only occurred to me this year. Will continue to measure jar by jar.